Deep-frying is not my forte. I’ve only ever done it once, actually, when I made fish ‘n’ chips – white-hot oil has just always struck me as a substance I should stay far, far away from. But when I’m presented with an opportunity to learn how to whip up homemade doughnuts from my friend and RG contributor Mollie, I’m obviously going to say yes. First, because Mollie alerted me to the fact that she inherited her love of deep-frying from her great-grandmother Big Momma, and any recipe even tangentially associated with a woman named “Big Momma” is clearly going to be a delicious one. But also because these doughnuts are made using pre-made biscuit dough. Which means they take about five minutes.
Let me say that again, for emphasis: If you have these (pretty basic) ingredients handy, you can be eating homemade doughnuts in five minutes. And now that I have officially tasted doughnuts fresh from the oven (or…oil-pot), I get why some people skip Dunkin’ Donuts in favor of DIY: the doughnuts you buy in stores can’t even begin to compare to ones you eat seconds after they’re made.
Oh, and if you have kids this is such a fun project (minus the boiling oil part) – just sit them down with toppings and slightly cooled doughnuts – and maybe a few dropcloths, depending on how much you like your furniture – and let them go crazy. Which they will. (I practically had to hose my daughter down before I’d let her get in my car at the end of all this.)
MOLLIE’S BISCUIT-DOUGH DOUGHNUTS
What You Need:
- Vegetable or peanut oil
- Candy thermometer
- 2 large cans of pre-made biscuit dough
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 5 tbsp. milk, divided
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- Assorted sprinkles
What You Do:
- Heat about 2 inches of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to 350F.
- While the oil heats, prepare your glazes. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. In a second small bowl, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp milk, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to make the vanilla icing. In a third small bowl, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup cocoa powder, and 3 tbsp milk to make the chocolate icing.
- Lay the biscuits out on a cutting board, and cut a hole out of the middle of each using a small circular cookie cutter or a jigger.
- Fry the doughnuts in the oil until golden and then flip with tongs to fry the other side (this is really quick – maybe 30 seconds per side).
- Set on paper towels on top of cookie racks to cool.
- Finish the doughnuts by tossing them in the cinnamon sugar mix or dipping them in the chocolate or vanilla icing, and then decorating the iced donuts with sprinkles while still tacky.
Photography by Jordan Reid. Props & styling by Mollie Ortolff.
